Been There Done That Too…

Athens

// October 22nd, 1996 // Greece, Passage To Africa

Athens – After a 10 hour lay over in London (at least the stores were open, I happily spent it at shopping at Harrods and dining at Sea Shell), I boarded my Virgin Atlantic flight for Athens. There’s nothing like arriving in a city at 2:30am. Even the dogs are asleep. I woke the poor pup above up. He was sleeping next to the door at the hotel.

Travel tips:

1)With a little research you can usually beat the cruise line’s airfare – be sure to add the add on + what you would get back if you don’t use their air to come up with what they’re really charging you

2) If you’re flying one way, check out business/first class. Outside the US these are usually less than 10% more than a one way coach ticket.

The dogs in Athens amazed me – they all looked mournful (developed I’m sure from milking the tourists for food, which they’re very good at). It also amazed me the number of them living at the Acropolis. There must have been a resident dog population at the Acropolis of at least 10, including the one sleeping outside my hotel. I think they’re the official meet and greet committe in Athens.

The Acropolis is amazing, and the view from it of the surrounding sprawl of Athens is equally amazing. One thing that did catch me by surprise was the weather – IT WAS FREEZING! It was actually cold, wet and windy, far colder that in had been in London.
In addition to the standard city tour, I also took an evening tour, that took in a light and sound show with the Acropolis as the backdrop, and later a dinner show with traditional Greek dancing (yes, the dinner show was a little kitchy, but very entertaining and the food was really good). It was actually a very nice tour, what made it that way wasn’t so much the activities, but the fact it was a small group. There were only 8 of us, and it was a very interesting mix, mostly American, but there was one very nice middle aged Egyptian couple and he was very particular that all of us receive the best service at the dinner show. Unfortunately, when I got to Egypt I found out this couple was the exception to the rule – see Egypt for more…

One thing that didn’t live up to my expectations in Athens, was the quantity of antiquities to be found.   I expected it to be more like Rome, which looks like an Antique shop and a Museum both colided, exploded, and their contents were thrown all over the place. In Athens, the Acropolis is pretty much it. There are a couple of other very small sites around Athens, but not very notable or interesting. There are some interesting fairly modern sites here too, like the government buildings, and the site of the Olympic games, but in all it was a little dissapointing there weren’t more antiquities. After 2 days in Athens I was ready to board the Marco Polo and sail for Ashdod, Israel.

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